Problem: Gabriela earns a base salary of $350.00 every week with an additional 7% commission on everything she sells. If Gabriela sold $5500.00 worth of items last week, what was her total salary?
Answer: First, find the amount of commission made by using the following formula: commission rate $\times$ total sales $=$ amount of commission made Since the commission rate is a percentage, we have to convert it into a decimal first. Percent means "out of one hundred," so $7\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{7}{100}$ which is also equal to $7 \div 100$ $7 \div 100 = 0.07$ Now you have all the information you need to find the amount of commission made: $0.07$ $\times$ $$5500.00$ $=$ $$385.00$ We can find the total salary for Gabriela by adding the amount of commission made to her base salary. amount of commission made $+$ base salary $=$ total salary $$385.00$ $+$ $$350.00$ $=$ $$735.00$ The total salary Gabriela made last week was $$735.00$.